In one's life, there are a number of life changing events that completely shift your world view.

Your first kiss.

Your first car

Going to college

Losing your virginity

Your first professonal job

The day you get married

The first time you hold a child

The first time you are lying in the hospital being tested for a heart attack.

The good news in my case is that it was nothing: probably a skeletal mussle spasm in my chest which caused shooting pain not unlike a heart attack--except that the duration was too short to indicate a heart attack. My tests were negative, my EKG was normal. But for a few hours as I laid on the bed hooked up to an oxygen mask and having my heart measured, I regreated many of my lifestyle choices--including allowing stress to rule my life and failing to keep in better shape.

It's scary and humbling, even though it proved to be nothing. Though I need to schedule a follow-up with a regular physician to rule out pre-cardiac issues.

It's a life-changing event. Trust me.

posted by William Woody at 11:16 AMI'm glad you're all right. I had a similar experience about a year ago with long-lasting chest pains localized on the left side of my chest. Scared the dickens out of me. It turned out though to be a not-uncommon problem called Tsetse Syndrome: an inflammation of the cartilege that joins the ribs to the sternum. Gave me a new perspective though, for certain.The Lone Arranger at 1:11 PM